Centrifugal pump



June 18, 1957 R. F. BEAGLE CENTRIFUGAL PUMP Filed March 17, 1955 w W. A E V W.

FIG 5 ROLAND F. BEAGLE BY 2 2 ATTORNEY r 2,796,028 Patented June 18, 1957 CEN TRIFU GAL PUMP Roland F. Beagle, Springfield, Pa., assignor to H & H Manufacturing Company, Inc., Clifton Heights, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania a My invention relates to a -pump,=and more particularly relates to a centrifugal type -of'pump which will deliver debris-ladened liquid therethrough.

In pumping liquids by either reciprocating or vanetype centrifugal pumps, a great deal of trouble has been experienced in clogging of the pumps due to debris and foreign matter contained within the liquid. For example, in the pumping of water from a swimming pool, twig leaves, and other entrained matter in the water, if not filtered out prior to entry into the pump itself, will become entrapped within the pumping chamber and jam it. This jamming of thepump 'requiresfrequent maintenance and the stopping of the pumping operation causes delay and annoyance until repairs or replacements can be made. The frequency of such shutdowns not only causes timewasting and ineificiency of operation, but also requires a substantial investment in replacement parts.

It, therefore, is an object of my invention to provide a centrifugal pump for delivering 'de'bris-ladened liquids therethrough.

Another object of my invention is *to construct a centrifugal pump which will not clog or-jarn for substantial periods of time when debris enters into the pumping chamber.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pump requiring no close machining tolerances of the movable parts.

Another object of my invention is to construct a centrifugal pump which has no sharp protuberances upon its impeller.

Another object of my invention is to construct a centrifugal pump wherein no filter is required and any debris entering the pump will be forced therethrough.

Another object of my invention is to construct a centrifugal pump wherein large foreign particles entering the delivery chambers will be crushed between the impeller and its raceway and then be expelled through the discharge outlet.

Other objects of my invention are to provide an improved device of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efficient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, my invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a pump embodying my invention having a plurality of rotatable impellers.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modification of the impeller wherein a spherical impeller is disclosed.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another modification of the impeller wherein a multi-faceted impeller is disclosed.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, I show a centrifugal pump comprising a housing, generally designated A, and a rotatable element, generally designated B. This pump will not clog, audits parts need not be machined to close tolerances. v

The housing A comprises a lower casing A1 enclosing a delivery chamber 12 having truncated conoidal sides 14 terminating in a concave toroidal surface 26. An upper casing A2 coupled to the lower casing A1 forms the housing A, and within the casing A2 is a suction chamber 16 having a cylindrical wall 18. The lower casing A1 is mounted upon a base 20 by a plurality of 'circumferentially spaced holding bolts or screws 22. An O-ring 24 maintains a seal where the lower surface of the casing A1 engages the upper surface of the base 20. Within the interior face of the base 20 is the concave toroidal surface 26, forming a raceway which is concentrio with the axis of the conical delivery chamber 12, and merges therewith to form a single chamber having a tangential discharge outlet 30. A thrust bearing 28 is centrally located upon the base 20 with regard to the toroidal surface 26.

A header plate 32 is secured to the housing A 'by .a plurality of circumferentially spaced screws 34 extending through the header plate and the wallsof the casing A2. Conventional O-rings provide a seal at the mating surfaces.

Centrally located in the header plate 32, and extending therethrough is an upper bearing 36-to receive a shaft 38 which extends within the suction chamber 16 and the delivery chamber '12. ,The shaft 38 is rotatably sup- .ported within the upper bearing 36 and the thrust bearing 28. A peripherally located inlet 37 extends through the casing A2 and directly communicates with the suction chamber 16. A plurality of arms 40 are permanently affixed to an intermediate portion of the shaft 38 and extend downwardly and outwardly therefrom into the delivery chamber 12. Afiixed to the lower extremity of each arm 40 is a nugget-like impeller 42. In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the impeller 42 is ellipsoidal as. an example.

I show a modification of the rotatable element B in Fig. 4 wherein a spherical impeller 44 is attached to the arms 40.

In Fig. 5, I disclose another modification wherein a multi-faceted impeller 46 is mounted upon the arms 40.

As should be apparent from the foregoing description, my invention functions as follows: The shaft is coupled to a driving means such as a conventional motor, and may be geared or belt-driven to be operable over a wide range of speeds. The pump is primed by filling the suction and delivery chambers with liquid. As the shaft 38 is driven, the impellers 42 are spun within the toroidal raceway 26 and the liquid is expelled through the tangential outlet 30 by the centrifugal momentum imparted to the'liquid. As the liquid is discharged from the delivery chamber 12, the pressure is reduced within the suction chamber 16 causing additional liquid to flow therein from the inlet 37.

Since the apex of the conical delivery chamber 12 communicates with the suction chamber, the constricted orifice produces a large pressure gradient, thereby drawing within the delivery chamber entrained foreign particles. These particles or debris are crushed between the impellers 42 and its complementary toroidal raceway 26 and are expelled with the liquid through the tangential outlet 30.

Although my invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illus- V 3 trative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

.I claim as my invention:

1. clog-proof centrifugal pump for-delivering liquid containing debris and coarse foreign particles comprising a housing having a conical bore therein mounted upon a base having a concave toroidal surface interiorly facing and concentric with the conical axis to define a delivery chamber, a thrust bearing centrally mounted upon said base, a discharge outlet communicating with said delivery chamber, an upper casing having a cylindrical suction chambercommunicating with said delivery chamber and having a peripheral inlet, said upper casing also having a bearing therein, a shaft extending through said suction and delivery chambers and rotatably supported in said bearings, a plurality of arms permanently affixed to an intermediate portion of said shaft and extending downwardly and outwardly therefrom into said delivery chamber and terminating in bulb-shaped impellers within said concave toroidal surface.

2. A clog-proof centrifugal pump for delivering liquid containing debris and coarse foreign particles comprising a housing having a conical bore therein, including a peripheral inlet and tangential outlet communicating with said conical bore, a shaft extending through said conical bore and rotatably supported in a pair of centrally located bearings in said housing, a plurality of arms terminating in ellipsoidal impellers permanently affixed to an intermediate portion of said shaft and extending downwardly and outwardly therefrom within said conical bore.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the impellers are multi-faceted and polygonal in cross-section.

4. A centrifugal pump for delivering debris-ladened liquid comprising a housing having a truncated conoidal chamber terminating in a concave toroidal raceway, an inlet and an outlet communicating with said chamber, a rotatable shaft, a plurality of egg-shaped impellers securely attached to said shaft, said shaft being rotatably supported in said housing whereby said impellers travel in said raceway and expel the debris-ladened liquid through said discharge outlet.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said raceway substantially encircles said impellers in order to increase the rate of discharge.

6. A centrifugal pump for delivering debris-ladened liquid comprising a housing having a truncated conoidal chamber terminating in a concave toroidal raceway, an inlet and an outlet communicating with said chamber, a rotatable shaft, an egg-shaped impeller attached to said shaft, said shaft being rotatably supported in said housing whereby said impeller travels in said raceway in order to expel the debris-ladened liquid through said discharge outlet.

7. A centrifugal pump for delivering debris-ladened liquid comprising a housing having a suction and delivery chamber therein, said suction and delivery chambers communicating with each other through a restricted passageway, and an inlet and outlet communicating respectively with each of said chambers, said chambers being otherwise sealed from external influences, a shaft rotatably supported within said housing and having a plurality of bulbous impellers attached thereon, said delivery chamber having a raceway therein conforming to the centrifugal path of said impellers, and means to centrifugally rotate said shaft at a high speed wherein debris-ladened liquid will be drawn into said suction chamber and discharged from said delivery chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 430,884 Rice June 24, 1890 462,142 Lafite Oct. 27, 1891 1,711,063 Riley Apr. 30, 1929 2,046,226 Weightman et al June 30, 1936 2,203,089 Hollenback June 4, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 246,541 Germany Mar. 3, 1912 

